“Leviathan Corporation have developed a new submersible resistant to poltergeists. Reports suggest that the corporation is prepared to brave the ghost fleets above the impenetrable black gorg—”

  “A travelling circus troupe known as the Veilfreaks has—”

  “Tsukuyomi have reported that they have lost contact with the crew aboar—”

  Evantra switched the radio off after starting the engine.

  The next day, Evantra had borrowed Carmen’s car and was making her way to Bastion’s City Hall with Noelle and Benjamin.

  “There are two possibilities that I can think of,” Benjamin began. “This… ‘item’ that you seek…”

  Evantra and Noelle exchanged a glance. They had long deliberated on whether to share its nature with Benjamin, but Evantra had successfully convinced her to hold off until they better got to know him. While he had assisted them with the drone and had been nothing but helpful, Evantra insisted that they exercise caution.

  Still, she was trusting him. And she thought that it was a step in the right direction.

  “Veilcreature nests, and Demeteria’s installations.”

  Noelle nodded her agreement.

  “Like Tracy mentioned, Demeteria has installations scattered about its continental greenhouses. Specifically, the volatile greenhouses contain dangerous flora or experiments. If an operative found it, it could end up in a facility nearby for study or safekeeping, if it’s of interest to them.”

  Evantra nodded slowly, although she could already pick apart the problems with that assumption. There was nothing stopping an executive from dropping by and picking in up. Still, working in the dark as they were, they had to start somewhere.

  “The other possibility is that a Veilcreature swallowed or picked it up. Given how resource-rich the greenhouses are, Veilcreatures that slip through from Veilsurges often create nests in the area. Demeteria’s electrical field might help zap teethlings and flying creatures that enter, but larger, more formidable creatures are beyond its ability to deal with. It’s also far too expensive to set up sentry guns to fully cover the greenhouses. This is where the bounties come in. Still… we have a lot of ground to cover,” Noelle said, her shoulders falling.

  “Amitabha. Not all hope is lost, Noelle. The tracker you use is of quite a high quality, and if damaged, it reverts to a secondary system which emits a consistent signal in a shorter range. We should be able to pick it up once we come in proximity of it. Your idea of accepting bounties as a means of scoping out the nests and greenhouses is a good one. Demeteria pays well to hunt Veilcreatures that manage to escape, or ones that slip through Veilsurges. Do not despair, Amitabha. We might yet find your artefact.”

  Noelle and Evantra stared at Ben as he smiled innocently, looking out of the window.

  “Oh! My apologies, did I say artefact—”

  “Nothing gets past you, does it, Ben?”

  Benjamin smiled before shaking his head in sorrow.

  “Only the ectocreds.”

  ***

  After registering themselves as an amateur team with an interest in clearing Veilcreature nests in the greenhouses, all that was left was for them to receive an assignment.

  Once they did, they would obtain the clearance needed to freely enter the greenhouses to go in search of both installations and Veilcreature nests close to the drone’s location.

  Benjamin departed after they had accepted the bounty and assured them that he would meet them again at the Training Grounds.

  In the meantime, it was time for them to narrow their search area.

  “You’re certain they won’t pick up on your access?”

  Evantra and Noelle were seated in a café on the floor above Rosewood College. They had considered going on site, but it was clear that the pair of them would stick out like sore thumbs. Thankfully, they were still within Rosewood’s network in the café.

  “When I said that I was dead to my family… I’ve been erased from the system. But my sister saw to it that my permissions were maintained in an anonymous account. Just in case I ever needed to access it. I’m functionally invisible.”

  Evantra nodded slowly, following along.

  “I’ll be able to access Demeteria’s archives from Rosewood, but even my permissions have their limits, courtesy of mum and dad. No access to classified projects, but I should be able to find the locations of the volatile greenhouses close to where our drone crashed. That will give us a start. In the meantime, you can continue with the research.”

  “Even if they did track your searches, an amateur Ghostslayer researching ghosts won’t trip any flags. ‘Alfiera’ likely won’t either, though we could probably come up with a cover… huh she's a character in a game. Just say that you have a crush on them or something, you could use it as an excuse.”

  Evantra’s eyes narrowed as Noelle blushed.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “I’m going to ignore how easily that came to you.”

  They lost themselves in the research, Noelle marking out locations in the greenhouses surrounding Bastion, which contained Demeteria’s installations. While she attempted to run searches for Alfiera in Demeteria’s own database, they came up with nothing.

  What she did find however, was an article on revenants.

  “The most fascinating example of revenants are undoubtedly the ancestor spirits which guard population centres in Africa. The idea of benevolent ghosts was a myth often rationalised as hopeful conjecture without basis.

  The discovery of these revenants lent credence to the hypothesis that revenants were ghosts born of belief, many of the ghosts bearing some resemblance to mythical creatures or figures from oral histories.

  More concerningly, there have been disquieting assertions that the significance of belief to their existence links revenants to Ghostcults to a greater degree than ghosts of other natures.”

  Evantra let out a soft sigh as she puzzled over the image she had glimpsed aboard the Spirit of Nimue. Galahad, the towering knight clad in armour of the abyss. Nimue, the entrancing figure who had bestowed her with a rose.

  Could they have been ghosts brought into existence by Ghostcults?

  Perhaps one that Caliburn was involved with?

  But if they weren’t born of human belief but of the belief of sentient Veilcreatures… the thought of Ghostcults comprised of sentient Veilcreatures is particularly chilling.

  Evantra sighed, shaking her head, unable to parse Galahad and Nimue’s natures.

  ***

  Evantra completed the final set of motions and released [recovery].

  She gasped, palms clutching her knees as she panted, each gulp of air like sweet nectar. After training with Ha-Eun for a couple of days, she was already beginning to notice the changes in her stamina. Her recovery time had shortened considerably after a period of exertion, and she was also able to exert herself for longer periods.

  She could also feel the default strain that [recovery] imposed lessening with each successive use, the more she pushed herself. Soon, she expected to be able to keep the skill active while walking or engaging in non-intensivr physical activity.

  One she achieved that, her ability to obtain a second wind upon releasing it would be invaluable in protracted fights or training.

  When that point finally came, she would have to graduate from tai chi exercises to something more strenuous to fully leverage the skill.

  She cast a guilty glance towards Ha Eun, who continued to circulate around the class, giving out gentle pointers as and when she saw fit.

  I’m going to dread having that conversation.

  “Evantra! We’ve been approved!”

  Evantra glanced up from where she was hunched over, watching as a sweaty and tired Noelle approached her with a wide grin.

  She felt her heartbeat begin to race.

  Finally.

  ***

  Every day that passed since losing track of the trove seeker had been excruciating, and the thought of it falling into Demeteria’s hands filled her with dread. If the powers it conferred her were anything like what Caliburn had used it for, consuming a catalyst which allowed her to search for other catalysts would allow her to address the greatest bottleneck in her progression.

  “With our bounty approved, you two will have a plausible explanation for your presence in the greenhouses. Our actual bounty involves some deceiver gnomes that have been running amok despite Demeteria’s efforts to hunt them down. Their security coverage is generally only concentrated around their key installations.”

  Noelle bit her lip, pausing in her briefing.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come al—”

  “Yes.”

  “That would be best, Amitabha.”

  Noelle stared at Evantra and Benjamin with a look of hurt. Benjamin tapped her consolingly on her shoulder. Before Noelle could protest, Evantra gave her a firm shake of her head.

  “Besides, you’ll have a front row seat to the action.”

  Evantra tapped the scope on her Nagantra, where Ben had attached a small camera which would send a live feed to Noelle. She turned to Ben with a nod, who had kindly agreed to purchase the Liberty sniper she had looted from Caliburn’s armoury at a discount.

  The monk hefted the sniper with noticeably less fervour than he had with the Wraithkiller, and exited the vehicle.

  With a final wave to Noelle, they entered the greenhouse. She was greeted to the familiar scene of row upon row of produce, the stalks rising far above her.

  “The greenhouses have always fascinated me, Amitabha. I can understand how Demeteria quickly became such a dominant agricorp. The cost to cover all this land… I’ve heard that the ectostorms had detrimental effects on more fragile plant life.”

  Evantra frowned, casting a look around them. The outermost section of the greenhouse bordering the road wasn’t even bordered off by a fence. Seeing the electrical array flicker overhead, Evantra was convinced that they were inviting any stray Veilcreatures or unfortunate individuals into their greenhouses to be used as fertiliser.

  “I’m sure that plenty of it gets in. They haven’t closed it off from the road?”

  Benjamin nodded.

  “It doesn’t seem to impact their more hardy produce,” Benjamin said, gesturing beyond them. “There are other greenhouses sealed off and temperature-controlled for the organic produce. The value of the produce seems to be denoted concentrically, with the volatile greenhouses congregated in the centre of the expanse.”

  “Ben’s right, Evantra,” Noelle’s voice echoed through her comms.

  Evantra glanced at the passes they had received, which would allow them to penetrate further into the facilities.

  “Veilcreatures often get through by finding gaps in the filtration or ventilation systems.”

  Evantra nodded before casting a glance to the sniper in Ben’s hands.

  “Are you sure… you wouldn’t rather a different weapon?”

  Ben seemed to hesitate, pausing to regard the Liberty Pathfinder in his hands. His expression seemed to darken momentarily before he quickly disguised the slip with a serene smile.

  “It’s what I’m most comfortable with.”

  Everyone around me with tantalising secrets, huh?

  Though I’m probably the biggest hypocrite of them all.

  But if he’s half as good with the rifle as he is with tech, I’m going to feel a lot more at ease on this little expedition.

  Evantra fixed her gaze forward as they pressed further into the greenhouse, passing through where they had last encountered the drone. In the distance, she could make out a long, glass walls cordoning off a section of the greenhouse.

  Evantra froze.

  “Movement,” she whispered, under her breath, crouching to a knee. Benjamin followed suit, his eyes steadily scanning their periphery, before locking onto the culprit.

  Ben chuckled under his breath, rising to his feet, even as Evantra frowned.

  “Just a rootsnake. [Fairy] ranked, more harmless than a teethling.”

  Evantra watched as the ‘rootsnake’ emerged from the undergrowth. True to its name, it had the appearance of a thick brown root with the circumference of her calf, with no visible orifices or eyes. It slithered through the undergrowth like an undulating worm and paid them no heed in its passage.

  “They break down whatever aerial Veilcreatures the electrical array snags, processing it into fertiliser while extracting the... less desirable compounds. Wouldn’t be surprised if Demeteria have genetically modified them to increase the efficiency—”

  “Of their poop?”

  Ben gave her a sardonic smile.

  “You certainly have a way with words, Wraith.”

  Then he frowned, his eyes locking onto an object revealed after the departure of the rootsnake.

  “Is that…?”